I’ve been fascinated by Russia all my life and have loved the story of Anastasia Romanov, the daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra who supposedly survived the assassination and came back to claim her throne. This Don Bluth film examines her story and conjectures an animated fairy tale about the things that might have happened to her. I do put forth right at the beginning that very little of the movie is actually historically correct, but if you take the movie for what it is, it’s very enjoyable.
Meg Ryan stars as Anya, a girl who has lived in an orphanage since she was young. She has no memory of her former life – that of being Princess Anastasia. On the night that the Romanovs were dragged from the palace, she was taken from her bedroom through a secret passage by a boy who worked in the kitchen, and she wasn’t killed along with the rest of her family. But the trauma of that night has erased her memory.
Years go by and the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury) is searching for her granddaughter. Dmitri (John Cusack) and his sidekick Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) have decided to find a girl who could pass for Anastasia and collect the reward. When they stumble upon Anya, they decide she’s close enough to do the trick, but then Dmitri makes a discovery – she really is the princess. He was the kitchen boy who smuggled her out, and she remembers that part of her escape.
After helping to reunite the Empress with her granddaughter, Dmitri has a matter of conscience to settle. Does he keep the reward money, or does he slip off into the night? He has fallen in love with Anya and doesn’t know if he can leave the money, or her, behind that easily.
In the meantime, Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), an evil man who has sold his soul for the power to kill the Romanovs, has concocted a plan to hunt down Anya and keep her from ever reaching the Empress. This part of the story was very scary and I didn’t like it at all. It showed evil spirits combing the countryside, looking for her and then reporting back to Rasputin. If you can watch for them and fast-forward through them, the movie becomes much more enjoyable. Otherwise, it’s too frightening.
The music is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard in an animated film, and I’m tempted to get the soundtrack. All in all, a well-done film – just watch it with your clicker in hand.
This film was rated G.
Tristi Pinkston is a full-time blogger in LDS and Media Reviews. You can click here to read more by her.
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